$30 a month for Ultimate — I don’t think Game Pass is worth it anymore

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Microsoft has officially raised the price of Xbox Game Pass. While some of the cheaper plans have been adjusted in ways that benefit players, the biggest change is a nearly 50% price increase for Game Pass Ultimate. With so many streaming services competing for our money, this price jump is difficult to accept. It’s making me reconsider whether Game Pass is still a good value for the money.

Essential and Premium getting the better end of deal

The most basic Game Pass plan, now called Game Pass Essential (it used to be Xbox Live Gold, then Game Pass Core, so it’s had a few names!), offers a lot more value than it used to. For $9.99 a month, you get access to games on Xbox, PC, and through the cloud, plus a collection of over 50 carefully chosen games, cloud gaming capabilities, and special perks within certain games.

At $14.99 a month – the same price as the previous Standard plan – Game Pass Premium includes all the benefits of the Essential plan, plus access to Xbox Game Studio titles up to a year after they’re released (excluding Call of Duty). You can find a detailed overview of all the Xbox Game Pass changes here.

PC Game Pass, once a great deal at $11.99, now costs $16.49, largely due to the inclusion of classic Ubisoft+ games. It seems likely this price increase is timed with the upcoming release of the Xbox ROG Ally X. While Microsoft presents it as an Xbox, it’s essentially a handheld PC, and many people will probably buy the PC Game Pass specifically to play on it. Raising the price now makes sense from their perspective!

I’m saying this because I’ve already pre-ordered the Xbox Ally X. I was even thinking about switching to the more affordable PC Game Pass if I started using it as my main gaming device.

I’m not thrilled about the smaller updates, especially considering the price increase for PC Game Pass. Someone has to foot the bill, and it looks like Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be the ones paying.

The price to be paid by Game Pass Ultimate subscribers

Here’s the bad news: the price of Game Pass Ultimate is increasing. It’s going up from $19.99 to $29.99 a month in the U.S. This is the second price increase in less than a year – it went up from $16.99 to $19.99 last September.

That’s a 50% price increase. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate now includes access on consoles, PCs, and through cloud gaming – even on the first day of new game releases. It also bundles in services like Call of Duty, Ubisoft+, EA Play, and Fortnite Crew, and supports cloud gaming at 1440p resolution with improved streaming quality. Personally, I don’t really focus on those technical details.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate still doesn’t have an annual subscription option. Currently, it costs $360 per year – surprisingly, that’s more expensive than the original launch price of the Xbox Series S, which was $300. This information is current as of October 1, 2025.

Microsoft claims they’re charging for “flexibility” and “value,” but it really boils down to a cost for accessing Call of Duty. Standard Game Pass subscribers don’t get Call of Duty, PC subscribers do, and those with the Ultimate subscription are essentially forced to pay for it – Microsoft wants to capture every possible customer. They’re promising over 75 new game releases each year, which sounds impressive, but realistically, who has the time to play them all? While I might if I didn’t have a job, I couldn’t even afford the Ultimate subscription then. It makes you wonder who’s actually requesting this level of access.

Are tariffs and inflation solely to blame?

Microsoft claims tariffs, inflation, and server costs are the reason for recent changes. However, it’s unlikely the company is truly struggling. Just recently, Xbox’s president, Sarah Bond, publicly stated that Game Pass was both profitable and successful, bringing in $5 billion in revenue last year.

I’m skeptical of Microsoft’s claim that they *have* to raise prices. They recently made $5 billion, but that wasn’t enough, it seems. Now, with the massive $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, CEO Satya Nadella needs to find a way to cover the costs. You can’t make a purchase that large and then act surprised when you have to pay for it. Ultimately, we – gamers like you and me, and anyone who enjoys games like Call of Duty – will be paying more, either through higher prices upfront or the new $79.99 price tag. Don’t forget, game prices already increased this year!

Microsoft Rewards being given on one hand and taken with the other

This week hasn’t been great for Xbox fans. In addition to other disappointments, Microsoft has changed how Microsoft Rewards works. Previously, dedicated players could earn free months of Xbox Game Pass by collecting and redeeming points. Now, you can no longer directly exchange your points for a Game Pass subscription.

As an analyst, I’ve been watching the changes to Microsoft Rewards closely, and it’s becoming clear that while you can still trade points for Xbox credit, the value you get for those points is much lower than it used to be – and Xbox knows it. They’re promising more reward points through Game Pass play, but I’m skeptical about how much that will offset this hidden devaluation. Frankly, this is just the latest in a series of moves that have steadily chipped away at the value of Microsoft Rewards over the past few years.

The value paradox

So, what’s the overall picture? Xbox Game Pass still offers the best value for gamers, hands down. All of its subscription levels give you tons of content and features – probably more than most people will actually have time to enjoy. However, how people *feel* about the service is also important.

When a subscription becomes too expensive, people naturally start to question whether it’s worth the cost. At $29.99 a month, Ultimate feels pricey, and I’m personally finding it hard to justify the increased cost. This is where my experience as a Game Pass user clashes with Microsoft’s pricing decisions.

Let’s say you’re car shopping with a £10,000 budget and find the perfect model. But then the dealer tells you they don’t have it anymore, and tries to sell you a more expensive £15,000 version with added features like heated seats.

I just want the Game Pass experience I originally signed up for, at the price I was paying. Microsoft is now adding things I don’t need – like free games and better streaming – and charging me extra for them. It feels like they’re trying to sell me features I never asked for. These added perks are unnecessary if they don’t improve the core service I already enjoy.

Looking back at my 2025 Game Pass experience, it wasn’t the big, expensive games that stood out. It was the smaller, more affordable titles – specifically, Clair Obscur and Blue Prince. Those games, which originally cost around $50 and $30 respectively, really captured my attention and became favorites. I just didn’t find myself as engaged with the larger, more hyped games like Call of Duty.

I noticed Microsoft recently increased the price of Ultimate by 50%, and honestly, it doesn’t make sense to me. They’re raising the cost to cover features I don’t even need, and the price no longer reflects the value *I* get from the product.

When Microsoft unexpectedly raised the price of Game Pass Ultimate by 50% to cover features I don’t need, it no longer felt like a good value. I’m essentially paying for a huge library of games when I only play a few. While Game Pass still offers a lot of content overall, the games I enjoy aren’t worth the increased price.

Phil Spencer has famously stated that Xbox Game Pass isn’t a good fit for all gamers, and I’m starting to feel that might be true for me. Luckily, my subscription is paid through September 2026, so I have some time to decide if I’ll renew.

Game Pass still offers good value compared to buying every new game individually. However, it’s lost the incredible deal feeling that once made Xbox a challenger in the console market. Now, it feels more like a large company taking advantage of its dedicated fans simply because it can.

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2025-10-02 14:11